Within the sacred mystery of God's Name are all riches imaginable!

Francis cuts to the chase by not focusing on God's holiness but reveling in the freedom he has found in his relationship with his heavenly Father to experience all the Good that God is and the good He gives to us all! Alleluia!

Prayer is conversation - nothing more. However, our conversation can be superficial or sublime. Also who we talk to determines how we talk to them. We don't talk to adults the way we do with children nor do we speak to a neighbor in the way we speak to our spouse - the degree of intimacy is radically different.

Jesus taught us to call God 'Our Father'. We all know how extremely intimate parent-child relationships are. The love and devotion of a parent toward it's child and the total trust and openness of a child to that parent are both profound and beautiful. Jesus (and Francis) wanted us to feel this intimacy with God, our heavenly Father. He wanted us to feel free enough with God that we could open our hearts completely and express our needs to Him and, at the same time, wonder at and celebrate the fact that God IS OUR Father!

Yet, at the same time, Jesus wanted us to realize that this 'Father' is profoundly different than any earthly father. This is "Our Father who art in heaven". He deserves a reverence from His children that should be absolute.

Jesus' prayer expands our understanding of God the more deeply we enter into it and the further along we go in it. This is clearly seen from the fact that Jesus goes from praying about God 'being in heaven' to the fact that God is 'holy'.

Francis continues his prayer-meditation at this point: "Hallowed be Thy Name . . . " "Grow in our knowledge of You, that we may appreciate the width of Your favors and the length of Your promises to us as well as the utter height of Your majesty and the depth of Your judgments."

In a previous blog post we talked about holiness (sanctity). It literally means 'that which is separated from all other things (those things which are profane and temporal as opposed to that which is sacred and eternal) by God for some special purpose'. Jesus prays "Hallowed be thy Name . . ." so that men will treat It as holy. He wants all men to see God's name as being something profoundly special, deserving of respect and utter It with the greatest awe and wonder. After all, God is everywhere, always, listening to and watching each of us. You can't speak 'behind' God's back since everything is in front of His face!

'Why get so worked up about a name,' you might ask? We all know a NAME is a verbal representation of a person or thing. God's name, therefore, is a representation of God Himself. The second of the Ten Commandments is "You shall not misuse ('take in vain') the Name of Yahweh your God, for Yahweh will not leave unpunished anyone who misuses His name." 'Misuse' means to use inappropriately. This means to use it without due regard as to Who It signifies - to say it in mundane situations and circumstances and to say the It without the gravity, awe, wonder, fear, love and reverence that He deserves. To use it 'in passing' conversation is to misuse it and to say It without any feeling in Your heart means you are taking it 'in vain'.

There is a popular restaurant chain that does this very thing - having adopted the term "TGI - Fridays" as it's name. You hear the term "God" and "Jesus Christ" all the time, coming from seemingly everyone, everywhere, and under all circumstances. Sometimes you even hear It sandwiched between curse words (foul language)! What is really bad is when you hear even religious people (including Franciscans!) using the Name of God in vain! For example "Oh G_d!" when surprised or happy. Or "Jesus C----!" when frustrated or frightened. These are not prayers - not said with God in mind at all - but just 'expressions' used to vent! This abuse (misuse) is exactly what Moses told us to not do!

Why is God so concerned about the way His name is used? His name is so profound, beautiful and powerful that just hearing it gives life (to those who believe). We read in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), when God appeared in human form (but as a 'stranger') to people and they asked Him what His name was He responded, "Why do you ask Me about My Name seeing that It is too wonderful?!" (At this point in the story God - who looked like an ordinary man - would just miraculous disappear in front of their very eyes!) It is in the name of Jesus that we remind God of all of His promises He has made to us for/through Jesus (and there are many thousands!) Our Church uses Jesus' name to this day to cast out demons and heal the sick. The name of God is HOLY, POWERFUL, GLORIOUS AND GOOD!

Francis' statement, after Jesus' words above, seem totally unrelated to the subject of the Name and holiness. However, Francis was one who knew the holiness of the Name - had entered that holiness by faith and had become holy himself in the process - and this is why he does not mention the word 'hallowed' at all - though it is that concept that he is meditating on!

Francis goes straight to the blessing that being holy gives us access to: a powerful, intimate relationship with our heavenly Father. St. Paul tells us that "Those who come to God must believe that He Is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." God wants us to expect a blessing from Him whenever we approach Him in prayer and there is no greater blessing than to truly and fully know God. Jesus said, "Ask for whatever you want in My Name and it will be given You . . . Children, you can be sure that God will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask." With God 'comes all riches imaginable'! Alleluia! Knowing God was it's own reward for Francis. However, with this knowledge also came the wisdom and power to enjoy all of the other gifts that God freely gives to His beloved children! Alleluia!

Francis, in his prayer, forms a perfect cube of blessings. He discussed the length and width, the height and depth of the blessings of God, the promises of God, the glory of God and the judgments of God.

Remember 'blessing' literally means 'making happy'. Thus to know God's blessings means to know all that He is and all the gifts He gives us that can make us happy.

The promises of God indicate the kind of relationship we have with him. This relationship does not depend on what we do, say or think and has everything to do with His own personal commitment to us and our welfare. This is why, though we are desperately evil and deserve only eternal sufferings, He still showers us with love and blessings. That is why the promises of God are so powerful. They are given and fulfilled independent of our behavior. Alleluia! This means they are unshakable - as true and reliable as God is Himself. God never lies or contradicts Himself - He doesn't have to!

The glory of God is really too mysterious to be able to discuss! It is so startling bright, so powerful, that our mortal forms (made of dust and water) cannot endure it. However, the degree that we are able to endure it is an indication of how close we are to God. Those who are pure - like a little child - see God and are like God.

It is in God's mind and heart that we find the perfect knowledge and wisdom which His judgments are based upon. To know and understand His judgments is to be able to evaluate all things in the same way that He does - to have a heart and mind like God's. Those who are able to understand like God have become transformed into the very children of God - have become like Jesus. Alleluia!

Do you 'hallow' the Name of God? Have you some experience of Who this glorious Name belongs to? All you need to do is call out His Name to find Him. It is Jesus' name that saves us from eternal darkness and brings us into the light of a new day.

Do you take God's name in vain? Is it just another word to you - with little significance? Remember Jesus was called by St. John "The Word of God . . . and this Word became flesh." This means that you do not know the person called by the Name. Do you want to know the blessing, promises, glory and judgments of God like Francis did? Francis deepened his knowledge of them because he had 'ears to hear and eyes to see and a heart that understands'. Let us pray that we also have ears to hear, eyes to see and a heart willing to learn to truly reverence God. Let us honor Him by honoring His name and by spreading the glory and goodness of that Name - to the world!

Peace to you all, I pray, in Jesus Name! Amen.